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First of all, let me tell you a little story about a totally broke queer
fantasy lover (both a fantasy-lover who is queer, and a lover of queer
fantasy) and said person's sad trips to the library (because I can't afford to buy books anymore, sorry authors) wherein catalog
searches for "gay fantasy" returned almost nothing. After finding and reading Wicked Gentlemen and The Fall of the Kings, the library was exhausted of books in this search category. That is when I found an amazing resource for people like me called the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards (um, while I was visiting my homophobic parents - I had to be careful about erasing the browser history on my mom's kindle so she wouldn't be totally scandalized - I know, I should have stood in front of Fox News blaring on the TV and read out loud from my gay books but I didn't). In the Best Novel category, they choose the best fantasy and sci-fi books with queer themes or queer characters, going back to 1999. This is awesome! They also have a list of books that were written before the Awards were started, but deserve consideration by the discriminating queer fantasy/sci-fi lover. Some wonderful group of gayballs gets together each year and decide what they think the best gay/trans-themed (yes, I realize The Gays and The Trans sometimes get grumpy about being lumped into the same category, but I'm kind of both and I don't care, moving on) dork book of the year is, they give the award to the author, and they list it on their (needs a new designer, but bless their souls, they're doing their best with few resources, I respect that) wonderful website for all to access. I was VERY excited to find out that the 2012 award went to a novel about an AU version of modern Portland, OR (WHERE I LIVE OMG) with dragons and magic and lesbian blacksmith motorcycle enthusiasts (or something). I plan on getting a copy of that ASAP.
But on to my reviews.
Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale, 2008's Gaylactic Spectrum Best Novel. This is a fascinating tale of a place where a religious order runs the world, and the descendants of demons who renounced their place in Hell mingle, somewhat uncomfortably, with humanity. The book focuses on one descendent of demons, Belimai, and his crossing of fates with one Captain Harper. Homo-sexy-times ensue. There is also a mystery unfolding in the course of the book that I thought was well-executed. I hoped this would be a series because I enjoyed it so much, but alas. I'm still trying to find some of the author's other works. Definitely recommended!
The Fall of the Kings by Ellen Kushner & Delia Sherman, 2003's Gaylactic Spectrum Best Novel Finalist. I was kind of at a disadvantage with this book because I didn't know there was a precursor or two set in this world. It's the complicated story of a sort-of Victorian (Edwardian?) society, one that has only recently left the monarchy behind in favor of a parliament of sorts. But woven into the political history is a murky, magical tale of dark rites, sacrificial kings, and wizard-king sexual relationships. I thought the story (which included plenty of man-on-man sexy-times, btw, but not super explicit) was intense but also intensely confusing. Maybe it was supposed to be. But at the end I was like, the fuck? I would still recommend it, and anyone who figures out what it means has to write me and tell me.
The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan, 2011's Gaylactic Spectrum Best Novel. Although this book deals in unrelenting brutality and violence against women and murderous homophobia, it's absolutely fun to read and I almost screamed when I found out there was a sequel and probably a third book in the future. The story plops the reader down in a new world without wasting time on exposition about who all the races are, what gods are involved, what magic powers may exist, how many hit points a Kiriath blade gets, or anything else. You get to figure it out by learning about the main characters, who are a motley crew of heroes from a recent war against marauding lizard-people. They have since scattered and gone separate ways, and the book follows how they meet up again. The author unsqueamishly and convincingly portrays a gay man and a lesbian and even a straight dude as they move in this world of steel and magic and aliens and The Gray Places and gods. The author also does not flinch back from explicit descriptions of homosexual sexytimes. The main character, Ringil Eskiath, is a gay man and skilled swordsman living a lonely life in a violently homophobic world where known homosexuals are impaled in cages and left to die in public. But he's a snarky guy who doesn't have time for self-pity, and an all-around fascinating character. Throughout this book, I kept getting upset whenever it seemed like he might die, and I was like nononono I WILL BURN SOMETHING IF HE DIES. Anyway, recommended, dudes!!
